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Topic: ROCOR Western-Rite churches? (Read 8100 times)

i just wanted to ask as you all know so much about these things - about Western-Rite Orthodoxy. i will be moving soon to a place that seems to only have Western-Rite Orthodoxy. They are a part of the ROCOR. It is under the omophorion of His Eminence, Hilarion, Archbishop of Sydney. can anyone tell me if they are cannonical? I did a quick search here but the info wasn't complete.

Archbishop Hilarion is the ROCA hierarch over the ROCA's diocesan jurisdiction of Australia. The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCA) entered into communion with the Patriarchate of Moscow on the Feast of the Ascension, 2007. They are thereby in communion with the community of Eastern Orthodox Churches, i.e. the Ancient Patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, and the Churches of Greece, Serbia, Romania, Cyprus, etc. Accordingly, these autocephalos Orthodox Churches, must consider the ROCA to be "canonical;" functioning within the canons of the Orthodox Church.

I can't say that I know; however, I wasn't aware that the ROCA had a western rite. Archbishop Hilarion is a traditionalist. I had read that Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco, for a time, while he was in Western Europe, had authorized a Western rite, but I did not know they had maintained a Western Rite. The Greek's, Antiochian's and Serbian's also have rather numerous parishes in Australia. The Serbian Bishop, Bishop Iriney, is an American, who grew up in the Greater Cleveland, Ohio area.

i just wanted to ask as you all know so much about these things - about Western-Rite Orthodoxy. i will be moving soon to a place that seems to only have Western-Rite Orthodoxy. They are a part of the ROCOR. It is under the omophorion of His Eminence, Hilarion, Archbishop of Sydney. can anyone tell me if they are cannonical? I did a quick search here but the info wasn't complete.

thanksJHP17

Only Western Rite Orthodox? Where's that? How did that happen?

I'm pleased to hear such places exist. I just went to my first WRO Mass this past Sunday. Drove through snow across Michigan and back (to Chicago), to Holy Incarnation in Taylor (now moving into her own building in Lincoln Park, MI). I'm Arabic Orthodox, as are my sons (their mother was Romanian), so we're Eastern. But I remember growing up Arab and Lutheran. When I was in the Middle East the disconnect was stark. I'm glad such parishes exist for the Westerners.

The Moscow Patriarchate, and then the ROCA maintained some Western Rite parishes. And since this past year, there is no question of being canonical (though I understand some parishes withdrew from ROCA rather than communion with Moscow: such parishes of course would be a different story).

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hey thanks everyone - i just wasn't sure about them because i had never heard of Western-Rite (i thought it was some Catholic branch). I am Serbian Orthodox and we pretty much stick to our own (Russians, Greeks, etc). I had a better search on the web and found a Greek Orthodox parish there as well. the Western Rite was more convenient as they are affiliated with the university which is where i will be working so that is why i wanted to know. thanks againJHP17

i just wasn't sure about them because i had never heard of Western-Rite (i thought it was some Catholic branch). I am Serbian Orthodox

Zdravo, brate Srbe!

About two years ago four or five Western Rite parishes in France entered into negotiations with Vladika Luka of Paris and the Serbian Patriarchate. They hoped to be taken into the Serbian Church and retain the use of their form of Western Rite. I never heard how this worked out for them.

Upon the invitation of His Holiness Patriarch Pavle of Serbia, a meeting was held at the Patriarchate between the Patriarch Pavle and a delegation of the Union des Associations Cultuelles Orthodoxes de Rite Occidental (UACORO) - a Western Rite Orthodox community in France.

UACORO is the linear descendent of the community begun through the efforts of Vladimir Lossky and Evgraph Kovalevsky in Paris in the late 1920s. It was canonically constituted by a Moscow Ukase in 1936 as the Orthodox Church of France. Direction after the war fell to Archbishop (Saint) John (Maximovitch) when he was Archbishop of Paris. He consecrated Fr. Evgraph as Bishop Jean-Nectaire of Saint-Denys.

The church was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Romanian Patriarchate, which in 2001 deposed the ruling bishop Germain for gross infringement of church rules. Subsequently UACORO was formed from those parishes refusing to remain under the desposed Germain.

His Holiness Patriarch Pavle together with His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral, and His Grace Bishop Luka of Western Europe received the delegation. The UACORO delegation included Archipretre Jean Pierre Pahud, Fr. Maxime Jourdant, and M. Guy Treca. The Serbian Orthodox Diocese members included Presbyter Jovan Georgievski, parish priest of Paris, and Mr. Kosta Hristic, lay vice-president of theExecutive Council of the Diocese of Western Europe.

At the beginning of the meeting the UACORO delegation expressed the desire to be brought under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Church within the framework of the Diocese of Western Europe, and by uniting with the Serbian Orthodox Church to preserve their liturgical tradition. Patriarch Pavle indicated his understanding of the difficult situation of the UACORO community of ten parishes sprerad throughout France.

At the conclusion of the discussions held over several days, it was decided to form a special committee of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church to report to the next meeting of the Holy Synod.